Health sensitivity in the daily lives of younger and older adults: correlates and longer-term change in health

OBJECTIVES

How susceptible older adults' affect is to fluctuations in health (i.e., health sensitivity) indicates how well they adapt to everyday health challenges. Theory and evidence are inconsistent as to whether older adults are more or less health sensitive than younger adults. The role of health burden as correlate and outcome of health sensitivity and age differences therein is also unclear. We thus move the study of health sensitivity ahead from longitudinal inquiry to examine age differences, the role of health burden, and long-term implications of daily life health sensitivitMethods: We use data from COGITO where 101 younger adults (M_age = 25; range = 20-31) and 103 older adults (M_age = 71; range = 65-80) gave daily reports of physical symptoms and positive and negative affect during a ∼100-day micro-longitudinal phase, as well as reports of trait-level health two years before and after.

RESULTS

Extending earlier reports, older age and higher health burden were (independently) associated with lower health sensitivity in positive but not negative affect. Health sensitivity was unrelated to long-term changes in health burden.

CONCLUSION

We take our findings to indicate successful aging (older adults are not more emotionally vulnerable to health issues) and discuss habituation as a process underlying how age and health burden may reduce health sensitivity.

Association between political group participation and depressive symptoms among older adults: an 11-year longitudinal study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Given the speculation that political participation is causing an epidemic of depression, this study examined how participation in political and non-political groups influenced depressive symptoms among older adults in Taiwan.

METHODS

The 11-year follow-up data from the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Ageing, covering 5334 persons aged 50 years and older, were analysed using random-effects panel logit models.

RESULTS

Engagement in social groups reduced the likelihood of depression (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.71, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64-0.80). However, there was a greater likelihood of depressive symptoms among older adults who were engaged in political groups when compared with those who were engaged in non-political groups (AOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.31-2.65). For older adults who remained politically engaged, participation in a greater number of non-political group types was associated with a lower likelihood of depression (e.g. at 1: AOR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.30-0.91; at 2+: AOR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.18-0.67); this numbers-based effect was not prevalent among those who were solely engaged in non-political groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Political group attendance can result in negative mental health outcomes among older adults. Our findings suggest that reducing the prevalence of depression through social participation is conditional to the engagement type.

Studying Within-Person Variation and Within-Person Couplings in Intensive Longitudinal Data: Lessons Learned and to Be Learned

Intensive longitudinal designs (e.g., experience sampling methods, daily diary studies, or ambulatory assessments) continue to gain importance in psychological aging research. Empirical research using these designs has greatly facilitated our understanding of short-term within-person processes and has started to approach the question how these processes shape long-term development across the life span. The aim of this viewpoint article is to point out four key issues in intensive longitudinal designs that in our opinion require more attention than they are currently given: (a) improvement in measurement reliability, (b) the necessity to investigate inter-individual differences in short-term dynamics, (c) considerations of the time scale across which dynamic effects unfold, and (d) targeting causality by incorporating experimental methods in intensive longitudinal designs. We illustrate these four key issues by referring to a prominent example of within-person dynamics in prior empirical research: the within-person coupling of stressor occurrence and well-being (stress reactivity).

Actions to influence the care network of home-dwelling elderly people: A qualitative study

Positive impact of care networks of home-dwelling elderly people may be based on several network mechanisms: navigation to resources, negotiation between participants and contagion of behaviours. Little is known about actions of participants-elderly people, informal caregivers or formal care providers-to activate such mechanisms and generate support. Aim of this study was to identify actions in relation to these network mechanisms. A cross-sectional qualitative study of 48 interviews with home-dwelling elderly people, informal caregivers and formal care providers in the eastern parts of the Netherlands was conducted between March and September 2016. A framework analysis on network mechanisms categorised actions. Actions were reviewed by network party and compared between networks to explore relations between actions and networks. Results showed that participants navigated through existing relations to seek support. Actions on negotiation were aimed at ameliorating existing relations. Few examples and no actions on contagion of behaviours were found. Actions seemed driven by incidents and existing relations. Elderly people rarely initiated actions, informal caregivers felt hampered by their position in the network. Consistent patterns of relations between actions and network characteristics did not emerge. We concluded that the full potential of network-based support of elderly people is probably underused. Particularly promising seem: navigating the neighbourhood for new informal care, using opposite opinions as a catalyst for change and bringing quality of life and dilemma's into dialogue in the network.

Exploring the Mediating Role of Social Support and Fall Efficacy on the Association Between Falls and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Study in an Assisted-Living Population

Mobility restriction as a consequence of a fall is a major issue in assisted-living facilities. Although many factors are related to falling, little is known about the relationship between falls, social support, falls efficacy, and physical activity. The authors examined the relationship between falls and the Social Support Questionnaire, the Activities-specific Balance Confidence scale, and physical activity simultaneously in 81 older adults (66-94 years) using structural equation modeling. The structural equation model revealed that being older was associated with lower falls efficacy and a higher number of falls, and higher falls efficacy was associated with a higher number of steps per day. The development of a structural equation model illustrating the mediating effects of social support and falls efficacy on the relationship between falls and physical activity can help health care professionals in predicting risk factors of falls that may be compromised by residing in an assisted-living facility.

Testing the stress-buffering hypothesis of social support in couples coping with early-stage dementia

Purpose

To test whether the negative relationship between perceived stress and quality of life (Hypothesis 1) can be buffered by perceived social support in patients with dementia as well as in caregivers individually (Hypothesis 2: actor effects) and across partners (Hypothesis 3: partner effects and actor-partner effects).

Method

A total of 108 couples (N = 216 individuals) comprised of one individual with early-stage dementia and one caregiving partner were assessed at baseline and one month apart. Moderation effects were investigated by applying linear mixed models and actor-partner interdependence models.

Results

Although the stress-quality of life association was more pronounced in caregivers (β = -.63, p<.001) compared to patients (β = -.31, p<.001), this association was equally moderated by social support in patients (β = .14, p<.05) and in the caregivers (β = .13, p<.05). From one partner to his or her counterpart, the partner buffering and actor-partner-buffering effect were not present.

Conclusion

The stress-buffering effect has been replicated in individuals with dementia and caregivers but not across partners. Interventions to improve quality of life through perceived social support should not only focus on caregivers, but should incorporate both partners.